Wind course indicating means



N 1944- cs. F. SALISBURY ,0

WIND COURSE INDICATING MEANS Filed Jan. 28, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l [rave/22'??? G'eo gef 612123.520":

.Nbw.2l,1944.

G. SALISBURY wnm COURSE INDIGATING MEANS Filed Jan. 28, 1942 fnvniif .Gozye Ffialzbzzcu 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 21 1944 D ST P QQF n r 2,363,087 v1 1 r WINQDQOIURSE mmce'rmqnnausf, I,

i George F. Salisbury, Kenilworth lll f jfApplication January 28, 1942 serial Nancie:

gClaims. o1. 73-485) This invention relate s toan improvement in wind-course indicating means for sailboats and more particularly a device to indicate variations in the course of a sailboat from the relative direction of theapparent wind. i i

It is the usual practice insailboats to provide a wind pennant or th like at the top of the mast to indicate thewind direction. In order to attain maximum speed itis necessary to set the sails at the most efficient angle to the direction of the breeze when on the desired course. If the vwind shiits or ifthe compass course is changed inadvertently, efficiencyis lost and speed is re: duced. Therefore it is customary to attempt to hold to the wind course for whichthe sails have been set by keeping the angular relationship between the pennant and the sails as nearly constant as possible'until itbecomes apparent that the compass course should be altered or the sails should bereset. But suchpennants are not always readilyvisiblefromthe cockpit orthe boat;

moreover relatively small variations in the course of the boat may not be apparent by visually com Fig. Sis a section taken along line: 3 l ef. t

rigs is aneievauon or thewmanually' operated adjusting and settingrmeans located in thisxcase at thebottonrof; themast; 1 1 i Fig. 5'is a circuit diagramofmy invention, also showing the indicating device; r w t t Fig; 6 is-}a sectiontakenialongline 6-45 of Fig;

views illustrating -the various positions of the boat with respect to the true wind direction and the apparent wind direction; i a 1 With --reference to the drawings, reference numeral l lldesignates generally a boat which is provided with amast l l and a sail l2. In Figs.

7 to l2 ,tinclusive,l have illustrated various posipositions on ithe port tack. on The position of j the paring the angular relationship of the sail to the pennant. a t N The principal object ofsmyirivention is to provide a vane balanced in gimbals at the top of the mast together with means accurately to compare the angularrelationship ofthe vane to the fore and aft centerline of the boat. Such a device is of advantage'not only as a compassin assisting one to maintain his course withrespect to the wind, but it also provides lvaluablelinforma tion as to the optimum angular disposition of the sail with respectto the boat for that parti-" cularcourse. r a v t t r t A further object of my invention is to pro ide for sailboats a wind-course indicating means which may be dispose'djin the cockpit of the boat and which is readily-visible tothe helm'sman,

and also to provide in the cockpit adjusting and setting means for the control mechanism which is preferably locatedat the toner the mast.

The preferred embodiment of my invention provides electrically actuated indicating means.

My invention further contemplates a common meansforconnecting the various parts of the device both: mechanically and electrically.

Reference is hereby "made to the drawings in which like referencenumerals represent like parts: j j i t Fig. 1 is anelevation of a sailboat embodying a preferred form. or my invention;

Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional view taken through the top of the mast; 1

notpossible to holdt the boats course exactly in windl'pennanttor vaneat the top ofithe mast-is always pointed into the apparent wind whenthe boat is in 'rnotion. flhe apparent wind doesnot:

coincide with thel' tru e wind direction except in the caselwher thelboatfis standing still; Because of thle movementoi the boat, for example, inFigs. 7 and 8; it will be noted that theapparent wind makes a substantial angle with respect to the truevvindcourse andthisangle dependsjupon theapparent wind makes an angle of iess than 1 45 with the boat. Similarly when sailing at right angles to the direictiori of the true wind there i is i an apparentwind direction which is at an even greaterangle withrespectto the true wind direction and inrunningbefore the wind it is line with the true windso 'inthis case there is again an apparent windlat a slightangle to the true wind. In all of these cases the wind vane at the top ,of the mastkwill of course followfthe apparent wind. @The skipper of thee sailboat knowsjust what is the proper angle at which he:

should hold the boat with respect to'the ap' parentlwind to get the best possible sailing speed rout of it. Thereforegii he couldtakethe guess orkout of determiningitheangular position or theboat with respect to the apparent wind it Figs. 7,; a, 9 10, 111. a d 1 2 are ma mal;

would be muc hea sierfor the helmsman. to hold: I

the boat to the wind course for which the sails have been set. The vane or pennant will shift with any shift in wind direction and in such case the helmsman must shift the position of the boat so as to follow the wind change until it is desired to change the compass course or reset the sails. In the present apparatus I have provided an adjustable indicator which enables the desiredangular position of the boat with respect to the apparent wind to be set by means of an arrow on the indicator, whereupon any deviation of the actual angular position of the boat with respect to the wind vane and the apparent wind will produce a deviation from normal or zero point upon an electrically operated indicating instrument which is also immediately before the helmsman. The helmsman therefore need not watch the wind vane or pennant but can confine his attention to steering so as to maintain the indication upon the electrical indicating instrument at zero.

At the top surface of the mast is a recess as at I 3, and a shaft l4 which extends into said recess,'the shaft being provided with a collarl5. A plate l6 fits over the top of the mast and is secured thereto by screws l1, and confines the collar IS in the recess l3; The plate is provided with an upstanding flange l8 on'which a hub member I9 is rotatably mounted. The hub member is also secured to the shaft l4 so that the two may be rotated freely with respect to the mast. r

A housing 24 is suspended atthe top of the mast by a gimbal, which includes a two-arm yoke 20 mounted on the hub member I9 and provided with pivot pins 2| which support a ring 22 at diametrically opposite points thereof. The ring in turn is provided with the pivot pins 23 which are disposed at 90 from the pivot pins 2|, and these pivot pins 23 support the housing 24 which may be of generally spherical shape. The housing is weighted by a ring-shaped member 29 so that it will tend to assume the vertical position irrespective of the inclination of the mast.

A'shaft 25 is vertically journalled in the .housing 24 by means of ball bearing units 26 and 21 which are disposed at the top and bottom thereof. A wind vane 28 is secured to the shaft above thehousing so as to cause rotation of the shaft with the wind.

A rheostat 36 is disposed within the housing and consists of a resistance 3| in the form of a coil of wire or otherwise, disposed in a 90 arc, all points of which are of equal distance from the axis of the shaft 25. A sliding contact 32 is carried on an arm 33, the arm being affixed to the shaft 25. The contact 32 may be springpressed outwardly by a spring 3411. which forms part of a lead 34 that extends from the sliding contact 32 through the housing 24 and follows down one of the arms of the yoke 20 and extends into the hub I9. The lead 34 is provided with sufiicient slack exteriorly of the housing so as to permit the movement of the latter with respect to the yoke,. and within the housing it may be wound around a part of theshaft 25 and connected to the spring 34a. There is suflicient slack within the housing to permit free rotation of the shaft. A similar lead 35 extends from the resistance 3| to the interior of the hub I9. Stops 36 are provided at either end of the resistancewhich limit the movement of the. sliding contact 32 and of the vanes 28 with respect to the housing.

A dial 31 is secured to the mast l l at the lower portion thereof by means of spacers 38. A hollow shaft 39 is journalled in the dial and extends into a plate 46 fastened to the mast. A knob 40 is affixed to the exterior end of the shaft 39, and a pointer 4|,is associated with the knob. A pulley 42 is also mounted on the shaft, and the cables 43 and 44 which comprise flexible insulated conductors cooperate with the pulley.

The dial 3'! is provided with indicia indicating in degrees in the respectivequadrants the direction of the apparent wind with respect to the course of the boat. The cables at their upper ends are associated with the hub I9 so that rotation of the knob 46 will cause a corresponding rotation of the hub [9.

An aperture 45 as shown in Fig. 6 is provided in'the hub l9, and each of the cables after passing around the hub for almost a complete turn, extends into the aperture and terminates on the interior surface of the hub, the ends of the cables being affixed to the hub by suitable screws or binding posts 65. The leads 34 and 35 which also terminate in the'interior of the hub I9 a1'e (exteriorly) connected to the ends of the cables 43 and 44.

A similar arrangement as shown in Fig. 4 is provided for the pulley 42, the cables here extending through an aperture 66 in the pulley 42, and passing out through the hollow shaft 39 then through the plate 46 and downalong the outer surface of the mast. A wind-course compass in the form of an electric indicator 48 is secured to the mast and is connected tothe cables 43 and 44.

It will be seen that the cables 43 and 44 are electrically insulated from each other, and each is secured both to the hub l9 and to the pulley 42 so that rotation of the pulley will cause corresponding rotation of the hub. The cable 43 is 32. Conduits 49 and 50 are provided along the outer surface of the mast through which the cables run.

The indicator 48 comprises a housing 5| provided with a window 52 which exposes a fixed dial 53 mounted within the housing. The dial is provided with indicia 54, which indicia comprises an intermediate point of reference designated 0," together with calibrations on either side thereof to indicate degrees corresponding to the degrees marked off on, the dial 31. An indicator arm 55 is carried on a shaft 56, whcih shaft is journalled in the housing 5!.

An electromagnet 51 is disposed within the housing at one side of the shaft 56, and an elec tromagnet 58 is provided at the other side of the shaft 56, both of these electromagnets being dis-. posed above the shaft and at an angle to each other. A permanent magnet 61-is secured to the shaft 56, and is capable of aligning itself either with the core of the electromagnet 51 or with the core of the electromagnet 58, or at some point in. between the two, depending upon the position of the resultant field of the magnets. A conductor 59 connects the two electromagnets and a conductor 6| connects the electromagnet 51 with one terminal of a battery 66. A conductor 62 connects electromagnet 58 with the other terminal of the battery 66, and a, switch 63 is interposed in the latter conductor to open or close the circuit. "Cable 43. is connected to the conductor 59andcable 44 is connected to the electromagnet 58 so that the rheostat 30 is shunted across the electromagnet 58.

" 1 It will be seen that when the s'witch 63 is closed, a circuit is established through the elec- 1 tromagnets 51 and 58. The field of electromagneti'f biases the indicator arm55 to the leftof the e" point of the dial. The strength .of the field created by the electromagnet 58: which serves to determine the position of the indicator arm depends uponthe condition of the circuit as determined by the position of the sliding contact SI- Withrespecttothe resistance 3|. It will.

' beseen therefore that as thecourse of the boat shifts with respect to the direction of the appa- Iclaimm 1. Ina wind course indicating means for a sailboat, a wind vane at the top of the mast. thereof, current indicating means at the bottom of said .mast, an electric circuit including said] indicating means andflincluding two conductors extending to the top of the mast, a resistance rotatably mounted at the topof saidmast and in circuit withone of, said conductors, a sliding contact cooperating with said resistance and in circuit with the other of said conductors and 9 actuated by said wind vane for causing a ourtion as determinedlby' the direction of the wind.

At this time the switch 63 may be closed, and theuindicator arm 55 will indicate approximately thenumber of degrees by which the sliding con tact32 is displacedfrom theintermediate point ofuthe resistance 3 l.

It will be understood that the device is adjusted so that the indicator arm 55 will point to"0i.whenthe sliding contact is midway between either end of the resistance 3|.

. By. rotating the knob 10 the resistance at is caused to shift its position withrespect to the slidingt contact 32Qwhich at this time, remains stationary due to thezaction ofthe wind on the vane. 2When the indicatorlarm 55 points to 0, thezpointer 4i. willindicate the angular relationship between-Ithe'course of the boat and the direction of thexapparent wind. l i

Subsequent. variationsinthe course of the boat one my 1 or the other will cause a shifting of the vane28 withrespectto the mast, and a corresponding shifting of the sliding contact with respect tetheresistance, thereby increasing or decreasing the amount of current flowing through the electromagnet 58. As the electromagnetic field of the latter magnet increases or decreases, the indicator arm, 55 will be caused to move to the right or to the leftrespectively, thereby indicating a variation of the boats course from that originally determined.

It will be seen that this device facilitates in great measure the keeping of the boatupon a course relatively constant to the direction of the apparent wind so that sails can be set for maximum efiiciency under that condition. Shifts in rent change in said electric circuit, both of said conductors being anchored at their upper ends with respect to saidrotatable resistance, and a manually rotatable member to which said conductorsare anchored near their lower ends for the. purpose: or shifting the -longitudinal position of said conductors to cause said resistance to rotate with respect to said sliding contact.

2. In a wind course indicating meansfifor a sailboat, a housing mounted incargimbal at' the top of the mast thereof, awind vane rotatably mounted in saidhousing, a rotatable, member re- 5 motely disposed from said housing, two cables adapted iorwlongitudinal displacement and disthedirection of the apparent wind will be indicated by the indicator 48, thus enabling the skipper quickly to reset his sails to take advantage .of a change in wind which otherwise might go unnoticed for some time.

. It is obvious that other types of indicating embodiment of my invention herein, it will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made therein, without departing posed malongwsaid mast extending between. said housing and said. rotatablemember and secured at either end to each, whereby rotation of said rotatable memberwillcause a corresponding rotation of said gimbal and said housing, and indicating meansrat the bottom. of said mast to indicatethe relative angularposition of said win vane with respect to said housing.

ed therewith, and indicating means, mechanical- 1y independentof said windvactuated means, re-

sponsive to thercurrent conditions in said circuit, manually actuated setting means for said con ,trol means and remotely disposed therefrom, and two cables extending from said manuallyactuboat comprising a housing rotatably mounted at the top of the mast of said sailboat, a wind actuated means rotatively mounted in said housing, manually actuated setting means disposed at l the bottom of .said mast for said housing, two

conduits extending along said mast from. said manually actuated means to said housing, cables extending through said conduits and secured to said housing and to said setting means,whereby rotation of the latter, will cause a corresponding rotation of the former, and an electric circuit ineluding a current controlling means disposed in from the spirit and scope of this invention which is defined in the appendedclaims.

said housing the operation of which is controlled by the angular positionof said wind actuated means, and a current responsive device to indicate the angular position of said wind actuated means with respect to said housing, and said cables, said cables comprising conductors which are in circuitwith said current controlling means and said current responsive device.

5. A wind course indicating compass for a boat comprising in electric circuit a current controlling device having two independently shiftable elements, a current responsive device to indicate the relative deviation of said shiftable elements with respect to a predetermined relative position thereof, one of said elements being automat- 3. In a wind course indicating device including an electric circuit and. power source therefor,

means to control, the current. conditions in said circuit; wind actuated means, drivingly connectically shiftable in response to changes :in apparent wind direction, and the vother'of said elementsbeing. shiftable manually torebalance said current responsive deviceto a zero indication which corresponds to' said predetermined relative position of said shiftable elements when the boat is reoriented on a predetermined wind course.

6. A wind course indicating compass for a boat comprising in electric circuit a-current controlling ,device having two independentl shiftable elements, a current responsive device to indicate the relative deviation of said shiftable elements with respect to a predetermined relative position thereof, one of saidvelements being automatically shiftable in response to changes in apparent wind direction, and manual means for shifting the other of said elements, said manual means having a calibrated scale associated therewith to indicate the position of the latter-of said elements with respect to 'the boat to facilitate the setting of said latter element in a position so that said currentresponsive device will indicate a deviation in the course of the boat from a precalculated direction which represents maximum sailing efficiency. v

'7. A device to determine the relative direction of the wind with respect to the course of a boat, a wind vane responsive to shifts in the apparent direction of the wind, two cooperative elements having common mounting means and being independentlyshiftable with respect thereto and to each other, one of which elements is manually adjustableto a predetermined position with respect to said common mounting meansand the other of which elements is actuated by said i Wind vane so as to be responsive to variations in said direction of apparentwind, remotely disposed means to indicate the relative position of said cooperating elements with respect to each other, and remotely disposed means to adjust the predetermined position of said first named element. I

8. A wind courseindicating means for sail boats and similar devices comprising a supporting member, a contactor arm movably supported by said member, contact arm-moving means responsive to wind direction changes with'respect to said supporting member, anelectric resistance element in engagement with said arm and movably supported by said member for movement in the same plane as said contact arm, manually operable means operatively connected with said resistance element for manually moving the element in said. plane, and indicating means comprising an indicator electrically connected to the resistance and movable when the resistanceis moved, operable to indicate the angle which a line from the midpoint of theresistanceto the axis on which it rotates makes with the median line of the boat, and a second indicator electrically connected with the arm and resistance whereby it is responsive to shifting of the contact arm on said resistance to indicate'deviation of the contact arm in response to wind changes from the midpointof said resistance.

9. In a wind course indicating means for a sail boat having wind responsive means at the top of the mast thereof, indicating means at the bottom of said mast,'and an electric circuit including said indicating means and including two conductors extending to the top of said mast, means for causing a change in said electric circuit, said means including two independently shiftable elements in said electric circuit, one of which is drivingly connected with at least one of said conductors, and the other of which is actuated by said wind responsive means, and means for shifting the longitudinal position of said last mentioned one of said conductors tocause said first mentioned element to be shifted into an operative position with respect to said second mentioned element, whereby said indicating means may indicate the relative position-of said two elements with respect to each other.

' GEORGE F. SALISBURY. 

